CARINE HARMAND

YOU GET A CAR [EVERYBODY GETS A CAR]: RESOLVE COLLECTIVE AT TATE LIVERPOOL X RIBA NORTH: TRIALLING A MODEL FOR REDISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES

Tate Liverpool closed its doors in October 2023 for a major redevelopment. However, only its building has closed; during the planned two years of closure, Tate Liverpool has moved into RIBA North’s space, collaborating with the architecture organisation on delivering a programme of exhibitions and events which explore the themes of Art, Architecture and the Environment. Thus, it made sense that for our first project in this new space, we work with RESOLVE Collective, a group of creatives who combine architecture, engineering, technology and art to encourage community empowerment and address urgent societal and environmental challenges.

When a museum shuts its doors for major renovation, we often don’t hear about the amount of material that goes to waste in the process. This was a question we asked ourselves at Tate Liverpool in advance of the building closing last October. Although some material was redistributed and re-used across Tate’s networks in Liverpool to save them from landfills, we invited RESOLVE Collective to think creatively with us about material redistribution.

Used to working in community empowerment and tackling questions of power redistribution, RESOLVE designed You Get a Car [Everybody Gets a Car]: an experimental process that redistributes materials and knowledge from the currently closed Tate Liverpool building. The project supports creative community-focused endeavours across the city of Liverpool, for an environmentally sustainable, more circular economy.

The title, You Get a Car [Everybody Gets a Car], references a well-known quote from a 2004 episode of Oprah Winfrey’s TV show, in which she surprised her audience by gifting every person a car. Here, the title evokes an ideal of shared resources, at the same time as playing with contradictory capitalist and unsustainable values (everyone should have a car). It also highlights RESOLVE’s intent to honestly and openly address the way institutions may struggle to follow through on promises, acknowledging what is possible, or not, within the constraints of time and budget.

The redistribution process RESOLVE conceived functions on different levels. The first one is by engaging with specific community spaces and responding to their needs. This ranges from bringing in furniture from the old Tate building and redesigning layouts, to building shelving and storage units with materials we used to build our exhibitions with. The second level of redistribution is to redistribute furniture and materials that are no longer needed by Tate through a series of free giveaway events. These events are organised with community organisations in different areas of Liverpool, so the material can be shared across their area and networks.

The exhibition currently open at Tate Liverpool x RIBA North is only one part of this wider redistribution project. It documents the redistribution process and brings together stories and objects from some of the organisations that collaborated with RESOLVE. The objects and videos in this space give insight into the work of these organisations. They demonstrate different models of community service and show how these groups share similar visions, values and hopes for a society based on creativity, sustainability, community building, social exchange and mutual support.

The furniture, lockers, plinths and building materials that make the show have all been re-purposed from Tate’s dockside home. In the spirit of redistribution, the public are invited to inhabit and interact with this space, which will be activated through public events and workshops.

RESOLVE’s exhibition You Get a Car [Everybody Gets a Car] at Tate Liverpool + RIBA North is open until 14 July 2024.

Opposite: Press Photography of RESOLVE Collective installation at RIBA North, Tate Liverpool, February 2024 ©Tate 2023 Photo ©Tate 2023 (Joe Humphrys)